


Wins and Losses (Large Group Gifting)

by keithpoenewt



Series: High School Senior Year AU [7]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Corex AU, Cuban Lance (Voltron), Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Female Pidge | Katie Holt, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Gay Keith (Voltron), High School AU, Hunk & Lance (Voltron) Friendship, Hunk (Voltron) is so Pure, I'm Sorry, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Keith (Voltron) Angst, Keith and Shiro are Adoptive Siblings, Lance (Voltron) Angst, M/M, Mentions of Cancer, POV Keith (Voltron), Panic Attacks, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Senior year, but they haven't made it official yet, friendship goals tbh, he got his boo too, it's a three day camp really, lmao this boy got his boo so he's happy, or retreat, senior year retreat, where's his medal, you get your klance you fools
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-14
Updated: 2017-09-14
Packaged: 2018-12-29 20:02:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12092388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keithpoenewt/pseuds/keithpoenewt
Summary: After dinner, everyone has a little free time before they have to come back in and meet for Large Group Gifting. Since Keith can't do much, he decides to watch his friends play some beach volleyball. What could go wrong there?Later into the night, the class comes together everyone shares some insecurities they have or problems they've been dealing with over the past few years - or, in some cases, their whole life.





	Wins and Losses (Large Group Gifting)

**Author's Note:**

> I talk about a lot of things in this addition so if suicide is a trigger for you, please be cautious about reading. I mention it twice, but once Lance starts talking on the phone, that's when you want to start to prepare yourself. I tagged some other possible triggers, but PLEASE TAKE CARE OF YOURSELVES WHILE YOU READ :)
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

**Corex Day 2, Evening:**

Keith feels like a large weight has been lifted off his shoulders. Confessing to Lance has probably been the best decision he ever made - well if Lance didn't reciprocate those feelings he definitely would've run away, but he did and Keith couldn't be happier.

After dinner, Lance helps Keith down the stairs and back over to where the cabins are. He goes to say something, but Gwen speaks before he can. “Anyone up for some volleyball!? I'll kick all your asses!”

Cassidy scoffs. “Well, duh, you're the only one who actually can play.”

Gwen smirks. “You're just jealous.”

“You know what? I'll make you eat those words. You pick teammates and I'll pick teammates,” Cassidy declares.

“Fine. I call Lance,” Gwen says smugly.

Cassidy's jaw drops. “What!? He's in  _my_ group! I should get him!”

Lance chuckles and drapes an arm across Gwen’s shoulders. “Sorry Cass, but Gwen’s my number one.”

Keith grunts and folds his arms, pouting. “Excuse me?”

“Sorry, should've clarified…she's my number one non-cripple,” Lance replies with a smirk. “Better, babe?’

Gwen snickers. “It's about time you two confessed. If you took any longer, I'd have to scoop Lance up for myself.”

Lance sniffles. “It would be an honor, m’lady.” He lifts Gwen’s other hand and kisses it.

“She'd have to fight me,” Keith replies, still unamused. “Lance is _mine_.”

Lance wiggles his eyebrows and drapes his other arm around Keith. “Whoa now, there's enough Lance to go around. Who says you both can't have me?”

Gwen's and Keith’s eyes widen and they step away from Lance. “Hard pass,” they say simultaneously. Keith and Gwen look at each other and smirk before high-fiving.

Lance pouts. “Fine. I'll just stick to my man then.” He ruffles Keith's hair and smiles fondly at him. “I wouldn't have it any other way.”

Gwen snickers. “Get a man who looks at you the way Lance looks at Keith.”

Cassidy giggles. “Right? Okay, well, I can't pick Keith since he's injured so I'll pick Hunk when he comes back.”

“I think Hunk would rather be the referee.” Gwen smirks. “He really liked doing it when the rest of you were playing GaGa ball.” She waves over Hunk and Shay when they exit the main cabin and walk down the stairs. “Hunk, want to ref our volleyball game? Shay, you’re on Cass’s team.”

Hunk smiles widely. “Yes!”

Shay fist bumps Cassidy. “Whose asses are we kicking?”

Cassidy gestures to Gwen and Lance. “Theirs.”

Lance rolls his eyes. “Yeah right! We have Keith as our coach so we automatically win!”

“Wait, what? I didn’t agree to that!” Keith exclaims. “Lance!”

He ignores Keith’s protests and runs over to the beach volleyball net, kicking his shoes off. Gwen slugs Keith lightly on the shoulder then joins Lance. Shay and Cassidy get the volleyball and bring it over. Keith sighs and makes his way over with Hunk to sit on the bench on Gwen’s and Lance’s side. Lance looks over at him and winks before taking his shirt off. “LET’S GO!” He tosses it to Keith. “THIS WIN IS FOR YOU, BABE!”

Keith feels his cheeks heat up and crosses his arms, avoiding eye contact with his other friends who are laughing at him. Hunk claps his hands together. “Okay! If Lance is done flirting with his coach, I would like to start this game up.”

Cassidy holds her hand up. “Wait! We need a coach!”

Lance groans. “No, you don’t! Just start the game!”

“I can do it,” a voice says from behind Keith, startling him. Keith whips his head around and sees Pidge standing there with a smirk on her face. “Scared?”

Keith narrows his eyes. “Aren’t you a little short to be a volleyball coach?”

Pidge crosses her arms. “Aren’t you a little too crippled to be a volleyball coach?”

“HEY!” Hunk shouts. “No arguing! Pidge, go to your team’s side.”

Lance and Gwen walk over to Keith and wait for him to say something. “Alright, you have to win because Pidge will not hold that over my head. Gwen, you’re the professional out there so you get to call the shots. I honestly know nothing about volleyball, but that won’t stop us! NOW GET OUT THERE AND KICK SOME ASS!” Keith yells like he would during a football, hockey, or baseball huddle.

Lance places his hand out for a cheer. “Team on three! One! Two! Three-”

“Team!” Keith, Lance, and Gwen shout at the same time.

Keith watches as Shay and Cassidy leave the huddle Pidge had for them. She exchanges a glare with Keith before directing his attention back to the game. Hunk claps his hands together. “Okay! We’re only gonna play one set to 25 because we’ll probably want time to shower before Large Group Gifting. Anyway…I will let Pidge’s team start with the ball first be-”

“WHAT?! Hunk! That’s not fair!” Lance complains. “You’re biased just because Shay’s on that team!”

Hunk shoots Lance a glare. “Excuse me?! Who’s the referee here?! I don’t think it’s you! Plus, Gwen is experienced so it wouldn’t be fair to Cassidy and Shay if she started with the ball.”

“I could start with it!” Lance exclaims.

“Nah,” Hunk replies as he tosses the ball to Cassidy. “And…whistle!”

Gwen snickers at Hunk’s poor attempt at mocking a whistle and gets in a ready position. She’s squatting slightly with her arms out in front of her, ready to pass. Lance does the same and watches as Cassidy spins the ball a couple times in her hand before preparing to serve. She winds her arm back and underhand serves the ball over the net. Gwen and Lance look up and watch as it floats over.

“Got it!” Lance exclaims. He backs up slightly and passes the ball up in the air. The ball goes a little cockeyed and behind him a bit, forcing Gwen to run after the ball. She narrowly gets to the ball and passes it into the air for Lance. He passes it back over the net.

“Lance, get under the ball more and use your legs,” Gwen coaches as she jogs back to her spot. “And don’t swing your arms!”

Shay sets the ball up to Cassidy as Lance nods at Gwen. Cassidy does her approach a bit too soon and almost misses hitting the ball over the net. Keith’s eyes widen as the ball bounces off the net and falls to the ground, but Gwen runs through the ball just in time, getting it up in the air.

Lance quickly gets under it and sets Gwen up for a hit. Gwen taps her finger on her leg a couple times before taking her approach towards the ball. She, unlike Cassidy, hits the ball in an angle over the net. Shay attempts to dive for the ball, but it hits the ground before she can get it.

“OH, HELL YEAH!” Lance cheers, offering Gwen a high five. “Nice hit!”

Gwen laughs. “Thank you…I try.” She flips her ponytail dramatically then laughs with Lance again.

Keith smiles at them then turns to Pidge. “Looks like I’ve got the superior team!”

Pidge scoffs. “It’s been one point! Take a chill pill! Cassidy and Shay got this in the bag!”

“Alrighty…whatever you say!” Keith taunts, turning his attention back to Gwen and Lance.

The game goes on for about twenty more minutes, Gwen and Lance easily wiping the floor with Cassidy and Shay (even with Hunk’s biased reffing). At one point, Shay and Cassidy started to catch up, but that was only because Pidge complained about the ball going out whenever Gwen served even though, in Keith’s opinion, all of them were in.

Now the score is 24-20 with Gwen and Lance in the lead and only needing one more point to win the game. They walk over to Keith for a final timeout. “Alright, you both have worked hard for this…don’t let them take it away from you. You’re the superior ones. You wake up every day at six am and workout, preparing yourselves for this moment right here. You-”

Lance chuckles. “Keith, babe, this ain’t the football team. We got this.” He gives Keith a wink before dragging Gwen back onto the sand.

Cassidy and Shay move away from Pidge and Hunk tosses Shay the ball. Keith claps his hands and whistles. Pidge shoots Keith a glare but doesn’t say anything because Shay is about to serve the ball.

She takes a deep breath and tosses the ball into the air before serving it over. Gwen and Lance watch the ball and it starts floating a bit behind them. “I got it!” Lance exclaims, running for the ball. He gets behind it and jump sets it, but falls back onto his butt. “Oh shit!”

Gwen’s eyes widen, but her expression quickly turns to determination. Instead of passing it over, which would’ve been the safest move, she gets behind it and spikes it over. Keith stands up, ignoring the pain in his ankle and watches as the ball floats through the air before landing on the back line.

“OUT!” Pidge exclaims. “Hunk! It was out!”

Hunk shakes his head no and gestures to Gwen and Lance. “It was in…Lance and Gwen win!”

Gwen screams loudly and jumps in the air. “LANCE!” She rushes over to him and pulls him to his feet. “We did it!”

Lance punches his fist in the air and cheers. “HELL YEAH WE DID!” He hugs Gwen quickly before they run over to Keith. “DID YOU SEE THAT?!”

Keith looks at Gwen. “That was insane! How did you do it?!”

Gwen shrugs. “I just stayed calm and hit the ball over…it’s not that hard.” She turns and laughs at Cassidy’s pout. “I told you, but you didn’t listen.”

Cassidy rolls her eyes. “Whatever, let’s go shower so I can wash the shame off.”

Gwen laughs and turns back to Keith and Lance. “We’ll see you two later.” She waves goodbye and walks off with Cassidy over to the girls’ cabins. Hunk walks over to them after giving Shay a hug goodbye so she can go shower.

“Nice game, Lance,” Hunk says. “I didn’t think you were gonna get that ball over there, but you did and that was awesome!”

Lance chuckles. “Thanks. I’m shocked Gwen hit that horrible pass from me over. She’s really good at volleyball…I still can’t believe she got cut! She’s the only senior who didn’t make it!”

Keith rolls his eyes and grabs his crutches. “It’s a load of crap. Some of the football guys were talking about it and they thought it was dumb too.”

The three boys make their way to their cabin to grab the stuff they need to take a shower. “Hey, she’s still in the band though so that’s a plus, right?”

Hunk nods. “Yeah…all her closest friends are in the band anyway so it’s fine. She doesn’t seem to be that upset about it either.” He grabs the rest of his things. “Well, I’ll see you guys over there!” He smirks and hurries out of the cabin, leaving Lance and Keith alone.

Lance groans. “He’s the worst, but I love him.”

Keith chuckles. “Showering is going to be interesting with this thing. I hope I don’t fall.”

“I’d say I’ll catch you, but you’ll be nude so I’ll pass on that,” Lance replies, grabbing what he needs to shower.

Keith gasps and throws a bottle of shampoo at Lance. “Don’t say things like that!”

Lance yelps then laughs. “Unless you want to shower together.” He wiggles his eyebrows at Keith. Keith blinks at Lance then immediately walks out of the cabin, shampoo bottle forgotten.

Lance sputters. “What! Keith wait come back!”

Keith smirks when he hears the cabin door open again and hears Lance run up next to him. He slips Keith’s shampoo bottle into the bag Keith brought his other stuff in and they head to the showers together.

Only thirty more minutes until the entire class finds out about them…

 

* * *

 

**Corex Day 2, Nighttime:**

After showering, Lance and Keith head back to their cabin. Lance takes Keith’s crutches from him and set them against the wall while Keith sits down on his bed. He watches Lance move to join him but stops when his phone rings. “Oh shoot…hold on. It’s my sister…I’ll be right back.” He walks over to the back door of the cabin and steps outside. Keith watches him answer the phone through the window. He tries to read Lance’s lips, but he’s talking too quickly. Keith looks between his crutches and the backdoor, debating on whether to hobble over there or use the crutches…

He’s frankly too lazy to grab the crutches so he decides to hobble over to the door. Once he gets there, he hears Lance’s muffled voice and reaches for the doorknob. He begins twisting it but stops when he hears Lance go quietly. At first, Keith thinks Lance heard him, but he hears sniffling instead. Keith quickly opens the door and sees tears streaming down Lance’s cheeks, hand covering his mouth. Lance’s eyes widen in shock when he sees Keith, but rushes over to hug him, still holding the phone to his ear. “Isa, was anyone else home?” Lance asks into the phone between sniffles.

Keith hugs Lance tightly around the waist, resting his chin on Lance’s shoulder. He turns to Lance’s cheek, kissing it softly before releasing Lance with one hand to reach up and wipe the tears off his face.

“She…she was alone?” Lance asks with a sob, pressing his forehead against Keith’s. He continues to cry, tears falling from his cheeks onto the cement, creating a wet spot. Keith moves his other hand to Lance’s other cheek, cupping his face with both hands to continue to wipe his tears away. “O-okay…” He sighs and steps away from Keith, wiping his nose on his sleeve. “I - you don’t have t-to come and get me. I’ll be okay.”

He looks up at Keith and smiles sadly. “I’m not alone. I have someone to cry with.” He pauses and closes his eyes. “Okay, bye Isa. I love you.” He hangs up the phone and slips it into his pocket before sobbing all over again.

Keith steps up to Lance, ignoring the shooting pain in his ankle and hugs him tightly again. Lance wraps his arms tightly around Keith and cries into the crook of Keith’s neck. Keith rubs Lance’s back and kisses the side of his head. “I’ve got you…I’ve got you.” Lance sobs loudly again and grips Keith’s shirt tightly. His shoulders tremble with every loud sob Lance lets out.

Eventually, Lance tires himself out and resorts to whimpering in Keith’s arms. Keith releases Lance a bit to look at him. His heart breaks at the sight of Lance’s face. Tears stain his beautiful cheeks, his normally bright blue irises are cloudy and grey, and his eyes are red and puffy from crying. Even at his lowest, Lance still looks as beautiful as he does when he’s happy.

Keith smiles fondly at Lance. “Even when you cry, you still look so beautiful.”

Lance chuckles and another tear falls down his cheek. “Thank you,” he whispers.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Keith asks softly. “We don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

Lance shakes his head no. “I have to tell someone. I-I can’t bottle it in.” He takes a deep breath. “My sister killed herself this morning. She hung herself in her room.” He looks down at the ground. “No one was home all day. Isa found her when she got home from her long shift at the hospital…”

Keith’s jaw drops down slightly and he hugs Lance again. “Lance, I’m so sorry. Which twin was it?”

Lance sighs. “Lucy…”

Keith holds Lance tighter, knowing she was his favorite sister. Frankly, Keith loved her too…everyone did. She was always so kind to everyone she met and had the prettiest smile that could light up an entire room. Keith runs his fingers through Lance’s hair.

“I don’t know why she would do this,” Lance says, also playing with Keith’s hair. “She always picked the family up whenever any of us was sad…especially me. She helped me out with my crush on you.” Lance leans away a little to look at Keith. “She’s the one who gave me hope you cared about me the way I cared for you…she was right.” His face scrunches up and tears threaten to spill out again. “And now she’s gone! She can’t see what she did for me anymore!”

Lance starts breathing heavily, tears spilling down his cheeks again, but this time he’s unable to catch his breath. His eyes widen and his breaths turn ragged. “Lance?” Keith asks, but Lance doesn’t look at him and continues to hyperventilate. Keith places a hand on Lance’s chest where his heart is and feels it beating quickly. “Lance, shh. Listen to my voice! You need to slow your heart rate!”

He doesn’t reply so Keith does what he does best - jump right into things head first.

Keith grabs Lance’s face with his hands then crashes his lips onto Lance’s, kissing him with force and passion…something he’s been dying to do for years. Lance inhales sharply and tenses up in front of Keith, but at least now he’s holding his breath. Keith moves one of his hands down Lance’s neck to his chest and feels the heartbeat slowing down.

He stays like that for a couple more seconds, relishing in the moment before pulling away quickly. Keith takes a couple deep breaths before looking back up at Lance. He stands there with a dumbfounded expression. “You just kissed me.”

Keith nods. “I saw somewhere that when someone has a panic attack, holding your breath helps stop it…so, when I kissed you, you held your breath.”

Lance blinks at him. “Our first kiss and I didn’t even kiss you back! Keith!”

Keith shrugs. “I panicked, okay! I didn’t know what to do and that’s the first thing I thought of! Besides, that was my first kiss in general so I-”

“WHAT?!” Lance shouts.

Keith shushes him. “Don’t yell. It’s okay, Lance. You’re more important than the quality of my first kiss.”

Lance chuckles, more tears rolling down his cheeks. “Thank you, Keith. You mean so much to me.” He pulls Keith in for another hug.

Keith clutches Lance’s shirt and holds him close. “Do you wanna know something about me too? I haven’t told anyone this before.”

Lance releases Keith and nods, moving to sit on the ground. Keith slowly joins him, extending his bad ankle out. “Okay, so, you’re aware I’m an orphan, right?”

“Yes.” Lance laces his fingers with Keith’s. “Even though I don’t understand how you’re an orphan. You’re easily the most beautiful guy to ever exist.”

Keith smiles. “I guess you haven’t looked in a mirror lately.” Lance squeezes Keith’s hand, but nods at him to continue. Keith takes a deep breath. “Well, my dad abandoned me when I was five. One day, he took me to the mall. We walked around a bit, but eventually he told me to wait on a bench while he goes to look in a certain store.” Keith looks at the ground. “Ten minutes passed…then twenty…then an hour. I started to wonder what was taking him so long.” He furrows his eyebrows and clenches his free hand. “He told me he would be right back. Finally, a mall security lady found me sitting there when the mall was about to close. She asked me where my parents were, but I told her I only had my dad and that I didn't know where he was. I said he told me to wait right here until he got back.” Keith closes his eyes, mentally willing himself not to cry. “Now I know the lady knew he wasn't coming back because she told me to come with her, but I refused. I actually thought my dad would come back, but he didn’t…he didn’t want me anymore. Losing my mom hit him hard and I guess I was a constant reminder of something he didn’t have anymore. I was a burden to him that he couldn’t handle anymore.”

Keith feels Lance cup his cheek with his free hand and makes him look up at him. “Keith, your dad’s a jackass. I am so sorry he did that to you.”

“You don’t have to apologize, Lance,” Keith replies. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I know, but I feel that someone should apologize for the shitty thing your dad did,” Lance says. “Have you ever considered looking for him?”

“I did sophomore year, but Shiro and I discovered that he died in a car accident. He was under the influence,” Keith shares. “Both my parents are dead.”

“They may be your birth parents, but they’re not your mom and dad. Shiro’s parents are your mom and dad,” Lance says. “They love you, Keith - hell, I’ll even share my parents with you. You’re not alone anymore.” He pauses and looks at the floor. “I, uh…did you ever try to kill yourself?”

“No,” Keith states. “My dad and all the foster families who screwed me over would win. I always knew I had an escape.” He scooches closer to Lance and lifts his chin up. “Lance, what happened to Lucy was tragic, but she’s in a better place now. Her pain is gone.”

Lance strokes Keith’s cheek. “What about your pain? How do you cope?”

Keith chuckles softly. “I’m looking at him.”

Lance smiles again then leans forward and presses his forehead against Keith’s. “I want a redo on that kiss.” His breath brushes against Keith’s lips. “I can do so much better.”

Keith closes his eyes. “Prove it.”

Lance closes the gap between them again and slots their lips together in a passionate kiss. Keith tilts his head slightly and leans forward, nearly falling onto Lance’s lap. Lance chuckles, smirking slightly against Keith’s lips before tugging Keith closer. Keith feels himself start to relax into the kiss, lips moving in sync with Lance’s, noses brushing against each other.

Then, Lance presses slightly harder against him, tongue slipping into Keith’s mouth, forcing it open further.

_Whoa._

Keith grabs Lance’s chin and gently pushes him away. “Stop that!”

Lance laughs loudly then takes Keith’s hand in his and kisses it. “Lo siento, mi amor.”

Keith goes to retort but the door opens behind him, revealing a concerned Hunk. “There you are! Come on, Large Group Gifting is about to start!” He narrows his eyes in suspicion at them. “Were you two just making out?”

Keith’s cheeks flush bright red and he turns away, embarrassed. He feels Lance press a light kiss to Keith’s cheek before standing up. “You bet your ass we were, Hunk. Keithy-kinz here doesn’t like tongue, but I’ll get him to change his mind.”

Hunk rolls his eyes. “Dude, TMI. I’m happy for you two, but TMI.”

Lance helps Keith up and goes to fetch his crutches for him. “Just wait ‘till I confess to him in front of the entire class.” Keith takes his crutches from Lance and smiles slightly. “Keith’s gonna be the first man! You know, like the first lady…but you’re a dude and-”

“I got it, Lance,” Keith replies, leaning forward to give Lance a quick peck on the lips. “I’d be honored to.”

Lance’s face lights up with his pearly-white smile and he and Keith follow Hunk over to the main cabin. It’s a bit dark out, but Lance uses the light on his phone to illuminate the path. Once they arrive at the cabin, they find seats near their friends. Hunk sits next to Shay, draping an arm around her shoulders. Lance slides in next to Hunk so Keith can sit on the end because of his ankle.

Allura walks onto the stage and picks up the microphone. “Hello everyone! I hope you all had a fun time this morning with the Corex Games.”

The class cheers and Lance stands up, shouting, “TABLE GROUP TEN FOR THE WIN!”

Troy cheers loudly from across the room, pointing at Lance. “YEAH MAN!”

Allura claps her hands to silence everyone. “Yes, congratulations to table group ten, even though one of their members got injured in the process.” She gives Keith a side glance before continuing. “Now, I hope Small Group Gifting went well for all your groups, but now this is your chance to speak to the whole class. You don’t have to come up here and speak, but I encourage you to. This a safe space and will allow you to get closer to your class. I would like to invite your senior class president to come up and get the ball rolling…Lance?” She motions for him to join her.

The class claps when Lance stands up and makes his way over to the stage, carefully stepping over Keith’s leg. He steps on the stage and takes the microphone from Allura then sits down on one of the two chairs on the stage. “Hello everyone, I’m Lance McClain, your class president. I have three things I would like to talk about: two about my family and one about my table group. I’ll start with my brother, Marco McClain who graduated two years ago from Altea High. He was diagnosed with agoraphobia at the end of last year. We kinda knew something was up with him, but, honestly, my family kind of brushed it off. There’s so many of us and, not to mention, Marco had been really quiet most of his life so we didn’t think much of it. My parents only acted on it when one of his professors at the university he attended mentioned something. So, once school was out for me back in May, we took him to the doctors and that’s when we were told he has agoraphobia.”

Lance closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. “All the focus shifted to him and I felt like my parents didn’t want to deal with me anymore. College visits and ACT tests started popping up and I wanted their help, but they wouldn’t give me the time of day. I was so used to being the baby of the family and the center of everyone’s attention, and, once that was taken away, I felt like they didn’t love me anymore.” He looks at Keith. “But, thanks to other members of my group, I realized I wasn’t so alone. The things I do for everyone helps a lot…more than I ever could’ve imagined.” He bites his lip. “But, I can’t take credit for this. I learned how to operate like this from my older sister, Lucy McClain.”

Some of the girls murmur with each other, remembering who she was. Lucy was one of the best cheerleaders at Altea High. “Yes, my sister was a great cheerleader, I know, but she’s no longer with us.” Lance pauses, regaining his composure so he doesn’t cry. “She hung herself this morning.” He covers his mouth and squeezes his eyes shut.

From where he is, Keith sees a few tears roll down his cheeks. He stands up, almost tripping over his crutches then hobbles over onto the stage. Keith grunts as he kneels next to Lance. “Hey, you’re okay,” he whispers to Lance. “I’m right here.”

Allura walks onto the stage and helps Keith onto the chair next to Lance before she leaves the stage again. Keith takes Lance’s free hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze. Lance sniffles and nods. “Right, sorry. I learned a lot from my big sister. She had the biggest heart and was always so kind to everyone. She never stopped smiling and always helped me when I was feeling down. I just wish I could’ve known something was up with her. Maybe I could’ve prevented it from happening…”

Keith shakes his head no at Lance then leans forward to whisper in his ear. “Lance, it’s not your fault.”

“Keith-” Lance starts but sighs when he sees Keith’s expression. He looks back at the rest of their classmates. “Well, I know it’ll be a long time before I get over this, but she did help me with one last thing before I said goodbye to her when I left for Corex.” He turns back to Keith. “She helped me woo the guy of my dreams.”

Keith groans and covers his face with his hands, causing the rest of their classmates to laugh and burst into applause. The football guys (aside from Damien and whatever buddies he has on the team) whoop and clap loudly.

Lance smirks. “During Small Group Gifting, Keith told us his deepest fear, which was to be completely forgotten. He told us a heartbreaking story of him in his last foster home before being found by Shiro and, honestly, everyone cried. They did shitty things to Keith and made him what he is right now.” Lance moves his hand to Keith’s chin and lifts his face up. “A brave, strong young man who I’ve been pining for since freshman year. Keith, you’re important to me and I promise to show you that each day. I won’t ever leave you.”

Keith smiles sadly, a tear rolling down his cheek before he leans forward and pulls Lance in for a tight hug. Their classmates clap and cheer loudly again, clearly happy for them. Lance presses a kiss to Keith’s cheek and squeezes him tightly before letting him go. Lance stands up and offers a hand to Keith to help him up, but Keith reaches for the microphone instead.

Lance raises his eyebrows, surprised Keith wants to speak but hands him the mic nonetheless. He plops back in the chair and waits for Keith to speak.

“Uh, hello. I didn’t really plan on speaking, but Lance inspired me a bit. I’m gonna talk about my parents…or whatever I can remember of them. I can’t remember how my mom acted, but I can remember she always smelled like cinnamon. I think that’s why I love anything that has cinnamon in it because it reminds me of my mom. I also got my looks from her. She had the jet-black hair and unique violet-blue eyes. She died when I was three…she lost the battle against cancer.

“My father, on the other hand, I remember very clearly. He worked a lot, but would always make time to play with me when mom was at the hospital. The two years after mom passed, dad became more distant with me and wouldn’t play with me as often. One day, when I was about five, we took a trip to the mall. He told me to sit on a bench and wait for him while he went to look inside a certain store…but he never came back out. When the mall started to close, one of the security guard women asked me where my parents were. I told her my mom was dead and my dad said to wait here for him to come back. I must’ve become a burden to him or a constant reminder of my mom. He loved her so much and losing her crushed him. I just-” Keith pauses, voice wavering. He can’t cry about this again.

“Sophomore year I discovered he died in a car accident,” Keith continues. “From then on, I had this mindset no one would ever stay with me. Everyone around me just kept leaving and I got scared. At one point, I ran away from the Shirogane’s home because I didn’t think they loved me, but they were so frightened when I left. They thought something bad happened to me and I got kidnapped or something, but, after that, I knew they weren’t going to leave me.” Keith turns to Lance. “My group also showed me I’m more important than I give myself credit for.” He looks over at Hunk and Cassidy then glances around, finding Troy and Bailey before continuing. “I want to thank them…especially Lance. He’s shown me it’s possible to have someone appreciate you for you and I couldn’t ask for anything better.”

Lance’s eyes begin to water and he pulls Keith up for a tight hug. The class cheers loudly again, some jumping to their feet in a standing ovation. Keith laughs and hugs Lance tighter and whispers, “I can’t feel my ankle anymore.”

Lance laughs loudly and pulls away. “Don’t worry, I’ll carry you, babe.”

“Wait, Lance…what? I-” Keith yelps as Lance scoops him up in his arms bridal style. A few people whistle and holler while others clap again. Keith’s cheeks flush a deep red as Lance carries him off the stage. “Idiot.”

Lance smirks at Keith. “I think the proper term is _boyfriend_.” He gently sets Keith in his chair before sitting next to him.

“Boyfriend? I don’t remember being asked,” Keith replies nonchalantly.

Lance leans in closer, whispering, “Well, Keith Kogane.” His breath brushes across Keith’s neck, making him shiver slightly. Lance sounds so fricken hot right now. “Would you be my boyfriend?”

Keith bites his lip and nods, cheeks flaring up again. Lance chuckles. “You’re cute when you’re flustered.”

“Shut up!” Keith hisses, covering his face with his hands. Lance laughs, putting his arm around Keith’s shoulders. Keith removes his hands from his face and leans against Lance.

A few more people walk up after Lance, each talking about their issues/problems that have been on their mind for a while. Most of it’s the same cheesy stuff one would expect everyone to say, but Keith gives them credit for walking up there. Keith’s head falls onto Lance’s shoulder and he dozes off for a little bit, suddenly very tired after all they’ve done today.

The Corex Games took a lot out of him, especially after he busted his ankle. Not to mention being thrown in the pool by Damien and his dick squad. Honestly, did they have any chill? What the hell gives them the right to treat Keith like shit just because he likes a guy. It’s 2016, it’s time for people to grow up and realize it’s okay to like someone from the same sex or to not like anyone at all. Everyone who thinks it’s a bad thing is full of horseshit, in Keith’s opinion.

Keith jolts awake when he feels Lance shake his arm slightly. “Hey, Cassidy’s up there,” Lance says, pointing at the stage.

Sure enough, Cassidy is up there, clearly super nervous about it. She opens her mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. Some people begin whispering with each other, but Cassidy clearly hears because her head turns in that direction. Keith wants to punch the shit out of them for being rude, but, before he can, Gwen’s making her way up to the stage. She plops down next to Cassidy in the chair and glares at the group of kids whispering. Eventually, they pick up on her glare and quiet down.

Gwen is probably one of the few people Keith is actually terrified of. Shiro’s father, Shay, and Allura are the other three people Keith would never deliberately piss off.

“Okay, um, so I didn’t really plan on coming up here to speak, but I felt kinda obligated and inspired to.” Cassidy turns her gaze to the floor. “So, back in grade school, I didn’t have many friends…in fact, you could say I didn’t have any friends. Everyone had someone to talk to, but no one ever wanted to talk to me. I didn’t understand it at first because I didn’t think there was anything wrong with myself. One day, on the playground, I went up to a group of girls in my class and asked if I could play with them, but they said no. I asked why and they told me it’s because I looked funny.”

Keith clenches his fists and turns to where Lauren and her bitch group is sitting. He may hate Kara’s guts, but Lauren is a whole new level of bitch and dumbness. He couldn’t imagine going to the same grade school as Lauren. At least Kara could be pleasant sometimes, but that’s a rare occurrence…

“That comment stuck with me throughout the rest of grade school and most of high school. Since I didn’t think highly of myself, it affected everything else I did in life. I tried out for the JV soccer team freshman year and surprisingly made it. I didn’t think I was good enough to play goalie, but, apparently, I was enough. This made me want to try out the next year, but the coach refused to play me even though I had plenty of experience as a goalie. I worked hard with the goalie coach and the boys’ varsity goalie at the time, but that wasn’t enough for their taste.

“My friends urged me to try out the following year so I did, but I was told I wasn’t ready for varsity. So, instead of using an experienced goalie like myself, they asked someone who they thought would be a better choice - someone taller and more athletic.” Cassidy sighs and looks at the floor. “After hearing that, I quit the team. I didn’t want to deal with the coach’s bullshit anymore so I left and joined track.”

She glances over to Lance and smiles at him. “The track team was much more accepting of me than the soccer team was and I have the guys’ captain, Lance McClain to thank for that. The girls' team did have a captain, but she mainly let Lance take care of everything because he was always so eager to.” Cassidy turns back to the crowd. “So, uh, I guess to wrap things up, I want to thank my friends for supporting me these past three years…” She turns and smiles at Gwen. “Especially Gwen who has helped me in so many ways…like dealing with a bad relationship I was in.”

Gwen smiles widely and gives Cassidy a thumbs up before turning to the crowd to give Allen a small glare. Keith doesn’t know much about this kid, but ever since the band went on that trip to Disney World last year, Gwen and Allen have not gotten along. Keith didn’t really care enough to ask what was up because it’s none of his business to know. Hunk plays rugby with Allen so maybe he knows something about it.

The class claps, interrupting Keith’s thoughts. He watches Gwen and Cassidy walk off the stage and back to their seats. Lance hops up from his seat to go over to them. He says something to Cassidy then gives her a tight hug. Keith sees a few tears drop down Cassidy’s cheek. Before, Keith would be jealous of Lance hugging someone else in such a caring way, but now he knows Lance likes Keith and only Keith in that way. Besides, Cassidy would never get between Keith and Lance…she’s been one of the people to root for them to get together.

Well, she got what she wanted.

After Cassidy went up, a few of her other friends went up to talk about some of their insecurities. Keith enjoyed what Sylvia had to say. He had no idea she used to be a shy person before coming to Altea High.

As the number of people coming up dwindles down, Allura motions for Lance to go back up on the stage to say some concluding thoughts. Lance stands and walks onto the stage, but Shay jumps out of her seat. “Wait! I-I have something to say.”

Keith turns and sees Hunk whispering to her, trying to find out what she’s going to say, but Shay waves him off. “Well, come up here then!” Lance exclaims with a smile.

Shay walks up to the stage and takes the microphone from Lance. “Uh, hello everyone. I’m Shailene Clark, but many of you know me as Shay. I only have a short thing to share with all of you…I don’t plan on finishing high school here at Altea High.” She pauses when people start murmuring to themselves. “Yes, I know. I’ve been talking with the administrators and my teachers and there’s talk about me graduating early to attend Oxford University in England.”

Gasps come from the crowd and people start talking loudly with each other. Keith’s eyes widen slightly before turning to Hunk to see his reaction. He sees hurt and worry flash across Hunk’s face. Hunk starts breathing heavily then he gets up and walks past Keith, storming out of the cabin. The class goes silent when the door slams shut. Keith whirls back around to look at Lance before grabbing his crutches to quickly follow Hunk out of the cabin.

“Hunk?!” Keith exclaims, making his way across the deck, not really being able to see where he’s going. He approaches the steps and one of his crutches slip and tumbles down the stairs. Keith barely grabs onto the railing to avoid falling himself. “Shit.” The second crutch slips out from underneath his arm and slides down the stairs as well. Keith huffs, blowing the pieces of hair that fell in front of his face away. He slowly takes a step forward, but a shooting pain goes through his ankle and he falls forward. “F-”

A strong arm pulls him back onto the deck before Keith falls to his (probable) death. He turns and sees Hunk standing there with a solemn expression on his face. It looks like he had been crying. “Dude, you have to be more careful,” Hunk warns.

“Don’t be worrying about me…Hunk, why did you storm out?” Keith wonders, standing up straight.

Hunk clenches his jaw and looks away. “I didn’t know she was graduating early. I mean Stanford asked me if I wanted to graduate early and come there, but I wanted to finish out my senior year…and I wanted to spend the rest of my time with Shay before we went our separate ways.” He turns back to Keith, eyes watery. “Why wouldn’t she tell me about this?! I thought we told each other everything!”

Keith frowns and pulls Hunk in for a tight hug. “Maybe this is sudden for her too. Hunk, you need to talk to her.”

Hunk pulls away and glares at Keith. “What, like she did with me about this?! Keith, this isn’t fair! Imagine how you would feel if Lance pulled this shit with you!”

“Hunk, that’s not the same thing and you know it. Talk to Shay, okay? Hunk, promise me you’ll talk to her,” Keith orders.

Hunk sighs and nods. “Yeah…okay.” He takes a deep breath then looks out down the stairs. “We should probably get your crutches before everyone else comes back out.” Keith nods and lets Hunk help him down the stairs. “Oh! I totally meant to ask this during Small Group Gifting, but what college do you want to go to, Keith?”

Keith sighs. “I have no idea right now. I know Lance has his sights on Stanford as well, right?”

Hunk chuckles and nods as he picks up Keith’s crutches for him. “Oh yeah…we’ve been dreaming of this since we were kids. We-”

“Hunk!” someone shouts from the top of the stairs.

Keith and Hunk turn around and see Shay standing at the top of the stairs, worried expression on her face. Her lip quivers slightly before she runs down the stairs and jumps into Hunk’s open arms, causing him to stumble backward slightly. He hugs her tightly and buries his face in her neck, shaking slightly from crying. Keith takes a step back and smiles slightly - Hunk and Shay have been through a lot the past two years, but Keith knows something like this won’t get between them.

He jumps slightly when he feels a hand on his shoulder. Keith turns and sees Lance standing there with a wide smile on his face. He gestures for Keith to follow him towards the beach, away from where everyone else is walking back to their cabins. Keith looks back to see if anyone is watching them, but no one seems to notice the two boys sneaking away.

Lance giggles and runs ahead of Keith through the sand, a wide smile on his face. Keith chuckles at Lance and rolls his eyes. “You do realize I can’t move that quickly right now, right?”

Lance whirls around and smirks. “Aww, does the princess need a knight in shining armor?” He makes his way back to Keith and steps closely in front of him, pressing his forehead against Keith’s. “How does that sound, shortstop?”

“It sounds amazing.” Keith presses his lips against Lance’s for a passionate kiss. He lets his crutches fall to the ground so he can wrap his arms around Lance’s neck. Lance chuckles slightly through the kiss before grabbing Keith’s hips and pulling him closer. He tilts his head slightly to get a better angle. Keith feels himself relaxing into the kiss more and finds himself taking in the moment more.

Lance smells like the ocean…Keith’s known this for the last four years he’s spent with the guy, but he never knew the depths of how  _nice_ it actually is. Sure, the salt from the water should smell a bit bitter, but Lance has a fresher scent to him (maybe it’s his detergent or natural scent). Keith moves his hands from Lance’s neck to his broad shoulders and muscular arms. Lance is a skinny kid, but, damn he’s fit. He’s been swimming for most of his life and Keith can feel the years of strokes Lance has done in the tone and firmness of his muscles. His hands travel to Lance’s chest and slowly trace down to his stomach.

_Oh, the abs._

He can feel how defined and smooth they are through the shirt. Keith pulls back from the kiss and takes a shuddery breath, staring down at the sand. Lance chuckles and gently lifts Keith’s chin up to look at him. “Someone’s a little handsy.”

Keith blushes and groans. “Sorry…you just smell really good and are really muscular.”

Lance sputters. “ _Me?!_ Have you looked in a mirror?! Your arms are thicker than mine!” He grabs Keith’s right arm and squeezes his bicep. “Dude, you’re ripped! I’m a twig!”

“That’s not what I felt,” Keith replies, a small smirk present on his face. “My uniform makes me look buffer than I actually am…you on the other hand-”

Lance covers Keith’s mouth with his hand. “You asshat! My uniform for swimming covers only the lower half of my body!” He rolls his eyes when Keith laughs. “Oh my god and I thought _I_ was nasty.”

Keith giggles again and laces his hands with Lance’s. “C’mon, you put this on yourself.”

Lance smiles fondly at Keith. “Yeah…I know.” He stares at Keith for a few more seconds then releases his hands. “We should head back. Want a piggyback ride?”

“Hell yeah!” Keith exclaims. He jumps on Lance’s back when Lance turns around.

Lance grunts and struggles to squat down and grab Keith’s crutches, but when he does, they make their way back to the cabins.

Keith wonders what tomorrow has in store for them…

**Author's Note:**

> CANON KLANCE! You're welcome for that last kiss. As I said in the description of this AU, this is my self-indulgence fic and is used so I can cope with what I'm dealing with (currently dealing with a crush so I'm using Lance and Keith to express how I'm feeling about him).
> 
> Also, I'm not sorry for that Hunk/Shay angst...they had it too good and now it's their turn to suffer :)
> 
> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!  
> Tumblr: [keithpoenewt](http://keithpoenewt.tumblr.com/)


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